The present invention relates generally to systems and methods useful for deploying medical devices within a body, such as a patient""s blood vessel. More specifically, the invention provides a variable diameter expansion frame system for temporary or permanent deployment of medical devices, such as a blood filter, a stent, a manometer, or an occluder, in arteries or veins. The frame can be placed in a collapsed condition to facilitate insertion of the device and in an expanded condition to deploy the medical device. The diameter of the frame can be varied to achieve maximal contact with the vascular wall.
Treatment of thrombotic or atherosclerotic lesions in blood vessels using the endovascular approach has recently been proven to be an effective and reliable alternative to surgical intervention in selected patients. For example, directional atherectomy and percutaneous translumenal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with or without stent deployment are useful in treating patients with coronary occlusion. These endovascular techniques have also proven useful in treating other vascular lesions in, for example, carotid artery stenosis, peripheral arterial occlusive disease (especially the aorta, the iliac artery, and the femoral artery), renal artery stenosis caused by atherosclerosis or fibromuscular disease, superior vena cava syndrome, and occlusion iliac vein thrombosis resistant to thrombolysis.
It is well recognized that one of the complications associated with endovascular techniques is the dislodgment of embolic materials which can occur during manipulation of the vessel, thereby causing occlusion of the narrower vessels downstream and ischemia or infarct of the organ which the vessel supplies. There are a number of devices designed to provide blood filtering for entrapment of vascular emboli in arteries. These devices have also been placed prophylactically, e.g., in the inferior vena cava, for prevention of pulmonary embolism in patients with a propensity for thromboembolism.
Filters mounted to the distal end of guidewires have been proposed for intravascular blood filtration. A majority of these devices includes a filter which is attached to a guidewire and is mechanically actuated via struts or a pre-shaped basket which deploys in the vessel. These filters are typically mesh xe2x80x9cparachutesxe2x80x9d which are attached to the shaft of the wire at the distal end and to wire struts which extend outward in a radial direction on the proximal end. The radial struts open the proximal end of the filter to the wall of the vessel. Blood flowing through the vessel is forced through the mesh thereby capturing embolic material in the filter.
One of the major disadvantages of present filtering devices is that the maximal expansion diameters of the deployed filters are fixed and sometimes fail to optimally and uniformly engage the vascular wall. An operator can only estimate the diameter of the vessel of interest and choose the filter accordingly. If the vessel, e.g., the aorta, is significantly affected by atherosclosis, the actual luminal diameter of the vessel would be over-estimated. In addition to blood filtering devices, this problem is also recognized for deployment of other medical devices, e.g., stents and occluders.
What is needed are simple and safe devices which facilitate placement of other medical devices in a body cavity, such as arteries and veins, and can be variably adjusted to ensure optimal placement of the medical devices. Existing devices are inadequate for this purpose.
The present invention provides devices and methods for temporary placement of medical devices, including a filter, an occluder, and a stent in a body cavity. More specifically, the invention provides a expansion frame system, the diameter of which can be variably adjusted to facilitates, for example, insertion of blood filter for capturing embolic material in an artery or vein.
In one embodiment, the expansion frame system includes an outer wire, an inner wire, and a circular or elliptical frame. The outer wire has a lumen communicating with a proximal end and a distal end, and is adapted to receive a percutaneous endovascular medical instrument. The inner wire, having a proximal end and a distal end, is disposed within the lumen of the outer wire. The distal ends of the inner and outer wires are attached, respectively, to the frame at first and second circumferential points at approximately 180xc2x0 from each other. The proximal ends of the inner and outer wires can be manipulated so that the outer wire can be displaced relative to the inner wire, causing the frame to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the line defined by the first and second circumferential points. In this way, the frame can be placed in a collapsed or an expanded condition.
In another embodiment, the expansion frame system further includes a force biasing element, such as a spring, disposed about the distal end of the inner wire. The distal region of the outer wire has an opening, through which the inner wire passes to attach to the circular or elliptical frame. The biasing element is capable of biasing the second circumferential point of the circular frame away from the opening of the outer wire.
In still another embodiment, the expansion frame system includes a syringe having a barrel and a plunger, where the outer wire is housed within a lumen of the barrel and is mounted on a distal surface of the plunger. The proximal end of the inner wire passes through the distal surface of the plunger and is mounted on the barrel. When the plunger is advanced slideably in the lumen of the barrel, the outer wire is displaced relative to the inner wire, causing the frame to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the line defined by the first and second circumferential points. In other embodiments, the proximal end of the barrel includes a locking mechanism, capable of fixing the displacement of the plunger relative to the barrel.
In certain embodiments, an occluding device, such as a non-perneable membrane, is mounted on the frame. When in use, the membrane provides isolation of blood flow in a vessel, e.g., isolation of aortic blood flow during cardiopulmonary bypass. In other embodiments, a filtering device, e.g., a parachute, basket, or scroll, is mounted on the frame, and a mesh is disposed over the frame. The filtering device may include an inflation seal for achieving better contact with the vascular walls. The construction and use of an associated filter mesh have been thoroughly discussed in earlier applications including Barbut et al., U.S. application Ser. No. 08/533,137, filed Nov. 7, 1995, Barbut et al., U.S. application Ser. No. 08/580,223, filed Dec. 28, 1995, Barbut et al., U.S. application Ser. No. 08/584,759, filed Jan. 9, 1996, Barbut et al., U.S. application Ser. No. 08/640,015, filed Apr. 30 1996, Barbut et al., U.S. application Ser. No. 08/645,762, filed May 14, 1996, and, Barbut et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,671, and the contents of each of these prior applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The methods of the present invention are useful for deploying a medical device within a body cavity for, e.g., protecting a patient from embolization during an endovascular procedure. The expansion frame system can be inserted to capture plaque and/or thrombi from the coronary artery, aorta, common carotid artery, external and internal carotid arteries, brachiocephalic trunk, middle cerebral artery, basilar artery, subclavian artery, brachial artery, axillary artery, iliac artery, renal artery, femoral artery, popliteal artery, celiac artery, superior mesenteric artery, inferior mesenteric artery, anterior tibial artery, posterior tibial artery, and all other arteries carrying oxygenated blood. The expansion frame system can be used prophylactically in patients with hypercoagulable state, including protein C or protein S deficiency, to prevent pulmonary embolism. It can also be used during an endovascular procedure to prevent distal embolization of thrombi and/or foreign bodies in the venous circulation, including the superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, external and internal jugular veins, brachiocephalic vein, pulmonary artery, subclavian vein, brachial vein, axillary vein, iliac vein, renal vein, femoral vein, profunda femoris vein, great saphenous vein, portal vein, splenic vein, hepatic vein, and azygous vein.
In a first method of using the expansion frame system, the frame, in a collapsed condition, is inserted percutaneously or through an incision into a patient""s body cavity, and is advanced into a region of interest. The proximal end of the outer wire is retracted relative to the proximal end of the inner wire, causing the frame to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the line defined by the first and second points, thereby increasing its profile. In this way, the frame circumferentially engages the luminal wall.
When used during an endovascular procedure, e.g., percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of a coronary or carotid artery, to provide protection against distal embolization, the expansion frame system, having a filter mounted on the frame in a collapsed condition, is inserted through a peripheral artery into the coronary or carotid artery distal to the occluding lesion. In using the embodiments which include a syringe, the plunger is depressed distally against the barrel, thereby retracting the proximal end of the outer wire relative to the inner wire, and placing the frame in a collapsed condition. After the frame is positioned downstream from the occluding lesion, the plunger is released, moving proximally within the barrel of the syringe, thereby distancing the proximal end of the outer wire relative to the inner wire, and placing the frame in an expanded condition. The contact between the circumference of the frame and the luminal wall of the artery is variably adjusted to obtain optimal contact.
The angioplasty catheter carrying the angioplasty balloon at a distal end is inserted into the artery, over the outer wire in certain embodiments, and the balloon is inflated to dilate the stenotic vascular lumen. Embolic debris generated during the angioplasty procedure are captured by the filter mounted on the expansion frame. After adequate luminal diameter is re-established for coronary blood flow, the expansion frame with the entrapped emboli is collapsed by depressing the plunger against the barrel of the syringe, and removed from the artery.
It will be understood that there are several advantages in using the variable diameter expansion frame disclosed herein for deploying a medical device. For example, the expansion frame system (1) can be used to deploy a variety of medical devices, including a filter, stent, and an occluder, (2) can withstand high arterial blood flow for an extended time, (3) can be used to deploy a variety of blood filters, particularly suited for temporary filtration of blood in any vessel to entrap embolic debris, thereby minimizing neurologic, cognitive, and cardiac complications associated with distal embolization, (4) can be used with any endovascular catheter with or without an imaging device, (5) can be inserted into vessels or a body cavity of various diameter, (6) can be variably adjusted to achieve optimal contact between the frame and the inner wall of a vessel or body cavity, and (7) can be used in adult and pediatric patients.